Please note our new postal address when sending
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121 5th Avenue, PMB #150
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About DDDB
Our coalition consists of 21 community organizations and
there are 51 community organizations formally
aligned in opposition to the Ratner plan.

DDDB is a volunteer-run organization. We have over 5,000
subscribers to our email newsletter, and 7,000 petition
signers. Over 800 volunteers have registered with DDDB
to form our various teams, task-forces and committees
and we have over 150 block captains. We have a 20 person
volunteer legal team of local lawyers supplementing our
retained attorneys.

We are funded entirely by individual donations from the community at large
and through various fundraising events we and supporters have organized.

Forest City Ratner Agrees Not to DemolishCourt Will Decide on TRO by End of Week
Protest Against Demolitions Cancelled

New York, New York -- Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and co-petitioners on the
DDDB et. al. v. ESDC et. al.lawsuit
applied for a temporary restraining order (TRO) today in Manhattan State Supreme
Court to put a stay on imminent demolitions by developer Forest City Ratner for
its "Atlantic Yards" project. After a two hour hearing Forest City Ratner graciously
agreed not to go forward with demolitions in the "Atlantic Yards" project site–which
it had scheduled for commencement tomorrow, April 18th–so that Justice Joan Madden
could take time to render her decision on the TRO.

Justice Madden announced she would have a decision on the TRO by the end of
this week.

Co-petitioners applied for the TRO after the court scheduled a hearing on the
lawsuit (which was filed on April 5th) for May 3rd. On May 3rd the court will
hear petitioners' Article 78 and declaratory judgment case, as well as motion
for a preliminary injunction enjoining all demolition until the case can be
decided. Because the injunction would not be heard until May 3rd–while numerous
demolitions have been scheduled prior to May 3rd–in order to prevent the injunction
from becoming substantially moot, co-petitioners applied for the TRO today.

Whether or not demolition eventually starts, the project cannot be built as
proposed–not the arena, not the superblocks–if plaintiffs on the federal
eminent domain lawsuit succeed in keeping their homes and businesses from
government seizure. That case claims that the use of eminent domain for the
"Atlantic Yards" project violates the U.S. Constitution.

In light of the developer's agreement not to commence demolitions as planned
tomorrow, the protest against those demolitions–called for 8am on April 18th–has
been cancelled.

A protest against the developer's demolitions will be called pending the court's
decision on the TRO.